Texas board of education might revisit 'intelligent design'

Published 7:41 am, Monday, July 18, 2011

The new leader of the State Board of Education is already coming under fire by critics who say she is pushing the same conservative ideology that led to her immediate predecessors' downfall.

Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands, may find her leadership skills tested during her first meeting as chair if anti-evolution members try to push "intelligent design" materials into public school biology classes when they meet next week.

Cargill also faces criticism for recently telling a friendly audience that the board needs more "conservative Christians."

Critics said that's the same sort of ideology that forced the state Senate to reject Gov. Rick Perry's two previous choices to chair the 15-member board.

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Cargill, a former science teacher, told the Eagle Forum recently that socially conservative members had lost one of their seven positions.

"Right now there are six true conservative Christians on the board, so we have to fight for two votes. In previous years, we had to fight for one vote to get a majority," she said in the speech posted by the Eagle Forum online.

Several of her colleagues said they were offended.

"It offended me because I am a Christian. That seems to indicate there may be only six Christians on the board," said Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, a Sunday school teacher and active member in his First United Methodist Church.

Like Craig, Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, is not aligned with the board's socially conservative bloc.

Ratliff, who defeated former board chairman Don McLeroy in the GOP primary last year, said Cargill's statement was unfortunate coming almost immediately after Perry elevated her to the leadership spot.

"It's going to continue the divisiveness rather than bring us together for the benefit of the schools and the kids. She's continuing to draw a line that is very judgmental," said Ratliff, also a Sunday school teacher and leader in his United Methodist church.

Not meant to be divisive

Cargill said she spoke to those colleagues who were offended by her comments. She declined to elaborate.

"My comments certainly were not intended to be divisive. It was for a particular audience," she said, adding she simply repeated a phrase often used by the media to describe the socially and religious conservative board members.

The Texas Freedom Network, described as a liberal organization that monitors the SBOE, circulated Cargill's speech in which she described the 2009 debate over new science curriculum standards as a "spiritual battle."

"She questioned the faith of her colleagues and she point blank said that she will demand that publishers make changes in the science materials to meet her own personal objectives - not science objectives," Texas Freedom Network spokesman Dan Quinn said.

Cargill supporters defended her.

"She was just making a political distinction, not a religious distinction, and it's much to do about nothing - except for the Texas Freedom Network and their friends who want to throw gasoline on the fire and try to ruin a fine lady," said McLeroy, whose own strong religious convictions as leader of the board convinced Senate Democrats to block his nomination two years ago.

Fears raised

Cargill's Eagle Forum speech simply referenced "a label and category that the media makes regular use of themselves to describe certain State Board of Education members," said Jonathan Saenz, a leader in the Liberty Institute, which monitors the state board from the opposite perspective of the Texas Freedom Network. Cargill's first meeting as chair will coincide with a public hearing on Thursday before the board's vote on supplemental science materials.

Some groups fear the board could favor supplemental science materials that would introduce "intelligent design" concepts. Texas legislators didn't have enough money to buy new science textbooks for public schools, so the state board is restricted to buying about $60 million worth of online supplemental science materials.

Intelligent design holds that the origin of life is too complex to be explained by natural selection and is related to the religious belief of creation.

Cargill speculated that "most board members want to stick with the (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards)" and suggested any fears the board would embrace "intelligent design" concepts are unfounded.